The Kids

Quick facts

About the Kids

There is a pile of them, and the exact count depends on which cousins came this year. They do not talk much where you can hear them. They sing, they dance, they knock on things, and they look up every time the radio does something it should not. Three of them have made names for themselves.

Jimmy, eight or so, a cousin, has total confidence and not much to back it up. He has answered every clue Maggie has offered with "Frosty the Snowman," and will continue to do so until it works, on the theory that eventually it has to. He held it through "Winter Wonderland," and is entirely convinced that he was the first person to figure out that the commercials are the best time to go.

Jilly, seven, is Maggie's little sister, and often sleeps through the singing and wakes up for the applause, a talent she may have been born with.

Dot, five, is the youngest. And let's be honest, a five-year-old doesn't have much of a biography. She's cute, she's a little bit funny, and she loves to dance. And that's enough.

The rest of the pool are cousins of assorted sizes, all under ten, all up far too late, and all under the impression that this is the best night of their lives. They may be right.

Did you know?

• Between them, they have knocked on every object in the attic that can be knocked on.
• Jimmy has been told the answer is not "Frosty the Snowman" and has taken it under advisement.
• Jilly can fall asleep in under a minute and wake up in under a second.
• There are strong views in the attic about which quilt belongs to whom.
• Dot has a dance for every song. It is the same dance.

Who plays the Kids?

Every production of Christmas on the Dial is cast from its own community, so the faces change from town to town. Your program has tonight's cast.

Meet the others: Bing Marlow, Vivian Vale, Chester, Maggie, The Narrator, The Hi-Fi Five, WMRG.